The European Space Agency (ESA) is Europe’s gateway to space. Its mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world.
Find out more about space activities in our 23 Member States, and understand how ESA works together with their national agencies, institutions and organisations.
Exploring our Solar System and unlocking the secrets of the Universe
Go to topicProtecting life and infrastructure on Earth and in orbit
Go to topicUsing space to benefit citizens and meet future challenges on Earth
Go to topicMaking space accessible and developing the technologies for the future
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This image of Europe was taken by Sentinel-3A’s Ocean and Land Colour Instrument on 16 October 2016. The left part of the image shows, for example, how its 1270 km-wide swath captures an area stretching from Spain to Italy. The ‘zoom in’ on the right shows the French landscape in detail and changes in water colour off the south coast. The Ocean and Land Colour Instrument features 21 distinct bands in the 400–1020 μm spectral region tuned to specific ocean colour, vegetation and atmospheric correction measurement requirements. As well as its wide swath, it has a spatial resolution of 300 m for all measurements, overlapping the satellite’s Sea and Land Surface Temperature Radiometer swath.